Tag Archives: Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton continued his tour of the US chat show circuit appearing on the CBS’s Late Late Show with James Corden yesterday.

With the show attracting a nightly audience excess of 1.3M, Lewis continues to build his reputation in the US, a market in which F1 has historically struggled to gain traction.

Through the interview Lewis showed off his skills on a unicycle and talked openly about his ambitions in the music industry.

US chat shows booking appearances from Lewis demonstrate his appeal outside of traditional motorsport output. Bernie Ecclestone will be hoping Lewis can bring some of this new audience towards F1 in 2016.

Earlier this week Lewis Hamilton made an appearance on US network ABC chat show Jimmy Kimmel live. Lewis Hamilton appearing on a show such as this in the close season serves to further demonstrate the driver’s market appeal away from the track.

Check out a clip from the show here:

Over the course of this week Lewis has received criticism from the likes of Martin Brundle for electing not to attend the Autosport awards earlier in the week:

Sad World Champ LH44 didn’t pass by Autosport Awards for 20mins to at least thrill/motivate young drivers he once was. Unwritten obligation

These remarks possibly prompted Lewis to comment on the ceremony during his interview with Kimmel.

Whilst it is unfortunate Lewis elected not to attend the awards, on balance if the decision was between the Autosport Awards, broadcast to a limited established audience or seek to further broaden the awareness of not only Lewis Hamilton himself but of the sport he represents, appearing on Jimmy Kimmel live to an audience of 2.5M was by far the more logical move.

The current era of F1 drivers are often criticised for lacking personality. Lewis Hamilton, has over the course of the 2015 made reestablished the playboy image of F1 drivers with a modern twist. This image makes his profile appealing to an audience away from the sport, Lewis has taken on the role of bringing this audience to F1.

Through a series of strategic calls AMG Mercedes Petronas elected to gift Nico Rosberg victory around the Yas Marina Circuit.

In a move reminiscent of the 98-99 Mclaren Mercedes domination in which the car leading into the first corner of the first lap would win the race, Mercedes elected to move away from procedures applied since Bahrain 2014 where by driver s, when in a dominant position, would not be permitted to split strategy, it would appear that Nico Rosberg as the lead driver was not only awarded the optimal strategy for the race, but Lewis Hamilton was actively disadvantaged.

Through the opening stint of the race Nico Rosberg was able to open up a lead of almost 7 seconds over Lewis Hamilton. However Lewis was able to bring this gap down to within DRS detection as Nico stopped for the final time. Subsequent to Nico’s second stop, Lewis held an advantage slightly short of 22 seconds, the time required to make a pitstop. Had Mercedes chosen to apply protocol Lewis as the 2nd driver would have stopped within 1-2 laps, in so doing the cars would have run within 1 second of each other in the closing laps of the race.

However, Mercedes elected to extend Lewis’ middle stint despite him losing at times more than 1.5 seconds a lap to Nico. During this extended stint pitwall exchanges were broadcast in which Lewis and his engineer debated elected not to stop again and running the super softs for again, both options were dismissed by the team despite as unsafe despite Ferrari and Red Bull running longer final stints on the super soft and Nico Hulkenberg achieving a stint of 31 laps on the soft.

Once Lewis made his final pitstop of the 2015 season he set about trying to catch Nico Rosberg setting a series of consecutive fastest laps. Having halved the deficit with 5 laps remaining his pitwall instructed him to turn down engine performance. Lewis initially ignored this order, a decision the team responded to by instructing Nico to turn to a higher engine mode.

The rationale for decisions taken by the Mercedes pitwall today are unclear, fans were seemingly denied of the prospect of close racing in the final race of the year for a greater good determined by the team. As fans of racing, this decision is not an omen for how AMG Mercedes Petronas will approach 2016.

Nico took a sixth consecutive pole position – the 22nd of his Formula One career and seventh of the 2015 season

Lewis will line up on the front row for the 18th time in 19 races this season – the 90th time he has started in the top two throughout his career to date

A 15th front row lockout of the season for the Silver Arrows sets a new Formula One record

Nico Rosberg
Normally I’m not too over-excited when I’m on pole, as you don’t get any points on a Saturday. But this time was a pretty cool feeling. My last lap felt absolutely fantastic and it’s great to be starting P1 again. I’m also quite happy that I’ve been quicker than Lewis for the last couple of race weekends. At the beginning of the season he was always this tiny little bit ahead, so it’s good to turn that around. This is the best position to start the race tomorrow. I want to win this one to finish the year on a high and give the boys in the garage a really good reason to have a great season-ending party tomorrow night.

Lewis Hamilton
I’ve generally been struggling with the car all weekend. I’ve changed a lot to try and get around the issues – but I’m still not really feeling comfortable with it. I did what I could out there tonight – but Nico was just really quick and did a great job in Q3, so I wasn’t really surprised he did a better lap in the end. It hasn’t been the best run of qualifying sessions for me lately – but I’ve still managed to turn three of those into wins. So, there is still an opportunity – even it is particularly hard to follow through the first sector. I will work as hard as I can to have a great start tomorrow and improve from there. I’ve got a lot of support here this weekend and that 44th win is still out there to grab, so I will be working hard for it tomorrow.

Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport
That was a great qualifying session to end the season. Nico did a phenomenal lap at the end of Q3 with a really amazing final sector to take the pole position – his sixth in a row. Lewis had a solid session but things didn’t come together for him in Q3. Nevertheless, P2 is not a bad grid position at this circuit – as last year showed. Everything is set up for a great battle tomorrow. Both boys will want to take the momentum of a win into the winter – and we’re looking forward to the battle.

Paddy Lowe, Executive Director (Technical)
It was a fantastic, tense final qualifying session of the season under the lights here in Abu Dhabi. As in Brazil two weeks ago, we saw no need to save option tyres for the race, so it was quite a straightforward programme for both drivers with a single run in Q1 and Q2. That set up the Q3 showdown, with both Nico and Lewis running two new sets of option tyres. Lewis clearly underperformed on his first run in Q3 relative to Q2, then put a strong final effort together. But this was beaten by Nico’s tremendous lap. Congratulations to Nico for his pole and to both drivers for fantastic qualifying performances throughout the season, which is not something that should ever be underestimated. To take 15 all-Mercedes front rows is a very proud benchmark. Now we look forward to the final instalment of their battle tomorrow.

Through the continued Starwood Hotels and Resorts partnership with the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team, Lewis Hamilton recently filmed a new short film at the Sheraton Park Lane Hotel in London to showcase Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) membership. As Lewis and the team prepare for the final race of the year in Abu Dhabi, Starwood Hotels and Resorts have shared behind the scenes images taken during the filming where we see Lewis, fresh from filming his Zoolander 2 cameo, is keen to get behind the camera.

Ahead of the launch of the #TravelLikeLewis campaign on Thursday you can preview the finished film here:

Starwood Hotels and Resorts choosing Lewis Hamilton and the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team as ambassadors for SPG membership further demonstrates the value of F1 engagement and the sports audience reach. It also goes to show a Formula One drivers job extends far beyond requirements at the track.

To see more from #TravelLikeLewis you can follow SPG on twitter by clicking here.

Following another Mercedes 1-2 the drivers and team directors offer their thoughts:

Nico Rosberg
Wow – another great win in front of another great crowd! I’m so happy with that one – especially at this great circuit with all this history, which makes it extra fun. It was a perfect weekend for me. I was able to control the race the whole time and won with a comfortable margin to Lewis in the end. The team made a good decision to switch to a three-stop race as we saw that Lewis’ tyres went off very quickly. I look forward now to Abu Dhabi where I’ll be pushing to end the season on a high. It’s good to have secured P2 in the Championship in front of Sebastian today – but that’s never really been my ambition. I want to be first, so I need to raise my game as this year it wasn’t high enough. I want to remember at this moment also that we have to put our sport in a different perspective after the incident in Paris. My thoughts are very much still with the family and friends of the people involved.

Lewis Hamilton
I felt good out there today. I was pushing like crazy and genuinely had nothing left. I really love this track but it’s so difficult to overtake. I was all over Nico but couldn’t get past as the DRS Zone sadly just wasn’t long enough. It would be great to do something different strategy-wise once in a while to mix it up – but as drivers we rely on the team. They do so many simulations that they know what’s best. The three-stop strategy was slower but the tyres wouldn’t have lasted, so it was the right decision. At the end of the day, Nico drove a fantastic race and he’s done a great job in qualifying recently too. Since Singapore the car has changed a bit which seems to have swung it towards him – but I just need to get my head down, work out why that is and get back on top of it for the final race. It has been fantastic being here in Brazil with these amazing fans. There is a lot of love in their hearts. Thank you to the organizers for a great event and see you next year!

Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport
A fantastic 1-2 finish for the team this afternoon and a great feeling to see Nico secure P2 in the Championship with this win. He put in a faultless performance this weekend with a strong pole position lap and then a beautiful drive today. For Lewis, running P2 was always going to be difficult at this track. As soon as you get close to the car in front, you lose downforce and the tyres start dropping off. When that happened in the second stint he asked about an alternative strategy. But the only option was to convert to three stops which was ten seconds slower in terms of overall race time and would have put his second place at risk to Vettel. Then, the situation changed in our favour when Vettel converted to a three-stop strategy, which allowed us to do the same and control any threat from behind to the end of the race. The boys were pushing flat out to the finish but Nico was able to manage the gap to the end to take a well-deserved win. We’re looking forward to seeing this season’s final installment of the battle between Lewis and Nico in two weeks’ time in Abu Dhabi.

Paddy Lowe, Executive Director (Technical)
Congratulations to Nico who delivered a perfect weekend here in Brazil. He won the race through a great qualifying lap yesterday and consolidated that with a tremendously controlled drive today. Unfortunately for Lewis, he couldn’t counter that and spent the afternoon chasing hard – unable to quite get close enough to try and overtake Nico on track. To us, it seemed a very exciting race as both drivers fought over fractions of a second lap after lap, putting each other under immense and sustained pressure. We originally planned to do a two-stop strategy but eventually converted to a three-stop strategy to shadow Sebastian in third place, even though the three-stopper was about 10 seconds slower overall. But with the relatively slender margin we had to the Ferrari, it was much safer to mimic his stops. There was a point in the second stint when Lewis asked if anything could be done about a different strategy, but the only alternative at that point was the slower three-stopper, with others looking like they were two-stopping, and we didn’t want to risk handing second place to Ferrari. Our policy is to let our drivers race and also to allow them to explore viable alternative strategies, as we have shown in the past – but we don’t let them pursue a bad alternative strategy at any cost. Needless to say, it’s fantastic to take a 15th race win and 11th one-two finish of the season; and it was just as satisfying to see Jimmy on the podium for his 50th birthday. He’s part of the fabric of our team and of the paddock as a whole, and it was nice to be able to recognise him with a visit to the rostrum.

Lewis Hamilton took on a rival of a different kind yesterday, swapping the tarmac for the canvas of a wrestling ring. The newly crowned Formula One World Champion appeared at the Arena Mexico to face an opponent laced in grease and leather at the spiritual home of Lucha Libre. Lewis showed his talents that extend beyond the steering wheel as he took on the wrestling star at a PUMA event in the Mexican capital.

With Formula One returning to Mexico after a 23-year absence, PUMA gave Lewis a cultural insight into the passions of Mexico – embracing the four values of Brave, Confident, Determined and Joyful. A rousing rendition of Mariachi music fronted by the lovely Latina actress Zuria Vega got things underway, with a fussball fiesta following against the Mexican star striker Oribe Peralta. The event concluded with a spectacular finale, headlined by a wrestling extravaganza against the might of Mistico.

Speaking about his Mexican experience, Lewis said: “I never saw myself in the wrestling ring but after taking on Mistico last night I think I’ve found a new talent! I always enjoy getting an insight into the culture of race countries and last night was a brilliant experience. Seeing the spirit of the Mexican people and how they embrace their values of joy, confidence, bravery and determination was very inspiring. The enthusiasm, passion and excitement for the return of Formula One to Mexico was clear and it was an honour to share the stage with some of the country’s stars to celebrate this.

The 2015 Formula One World Championship season continues with Round Seventeen, the Mexican Grand Prix, from Mexico City

Lewis Hamilton
Sunday in Austin is all a bit of a blur. The race was so, so crazy and it wasn’t until a few moments after I crossed the line that I realised that I’d done it! To be honest, it still hasn’t quite settled in. To match Ayrton in winning three titles was always a big ambition of mine and it just doesn’t feel real. I can’t express how grateful I am to everyone who made it possible – from my family to the team at the track and everyone back at the factories. I couldn’t have done this without each and every one of them. Now, I’m even more pumped to get to Mexico. For many of us in the paddock – including the drivers – it’s a new Grand Prix venue, and experiencing a new city and a new track is always exciting. Formula One has been racing in South America at the Brazilian Grand Prix throughout my career and the atmosphere there is just insane – plus we see thousands of Mexican fans every year in Austin. If they’re anything to go by the crowds will be fantastic, so I’m really looking forward to seeing them all out there making plenty of noise. I can attack the final three races now with nothing to prove and nothing to lose, so the aim is absolutely to put my name down as the first Mexican Grand Prix winner of the modern era. After the Ushanka style hats we had on the podium in Russia and the Stetsons in America, I’m definitely hoping for a massive sombrero if I make it onto the podium!

Nico Rosberg
The Championship fight is over for me this year but I have three races left to make a big push, end this tough season on a high and make up for the disappointment of the past few races. My first chance is in Mexico and I’m sure everyone is really looking forward to the weekend. I love discovering new places and this one will definitely be a really interesting venue. If the Mexican fans we see in Austin are anything to go by, the atmosphere will be incredible! My father raced there once back in the 80’s so maybe he can give me a few tips… although the circuit is very different now and so are the cars, so maybe that’s not the best reference point! Data will be very important in Mexico, of course, as it’s a track none of the current grid have driven before. Some of the more experienced engineers might know it – but the circuit and the cars will have changed so much since the sport last went there that it’s basically like starting from zero. That’s a big challenge and I’m looking forward to it. I’ve driven the circuit in the simulator to be as prepared as I can be, so let’s see what we can do.

Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport
The weekend in Austin was a very positive one for Formula One. On Saturday, we saw the paddock unite to put on a show for those fantastic fans who braved the weather to the very end. Sunday then produced arguably one of the most spectacular races of the modern era – not the easiest to manage on the pit wall, but incredible to watch as a spectator. A lot was said after the race about the relationship between our drivers and most of it was hot air. One of our boys won a world title on Sunday, and one lost it. If a few emotions boil over in that scenario, it’s completely understandable and human. Like always, we will do the analysis of what happened on track as a team – but we will do it behind closed doors. We now head into the remaining three rounds with an interesting dynamic in prospect. We have a newly crowned three-time World Champion in Lewis, who fully deserved to retain his title this year and will want to cap off an impressive season in style. At the same time, Nico is embroiled in a close battle for the runner-up spot and will be determined to prove his mettle in the final few races before knuckling down for a fresh title challenge in 2016. As a racing fan, like we all are at heart, I am excited to see what the final phase of the season has to offer and hoping for an entertaining battle. We start with Mexico, which is a new venue to most of us and an important market for Mercedes-Benz. It’s an exciting part of the world and we are all looking forward to our first taste of the country.

Paddy Lowe, Executive Director (Technical)
Austin was a somewhat unorthodox but ultimately spectacular weekend. Now, the next race sees a famous venue returning to the calendar after a long absence. Mexico is sure to provide a great challenge as none of the drivers – and I imagine not too many team members in the paddock – will have prior experience there. The circuit layout is an interesting one, with long straights but almost exclusively low-apex-speed corners. Top speeds will be amongst the highest of the season – despite more downforce being required than at Monza, for example. This is aided by the altitude of Mexico City which, at over 2,000 metres, reduces drag effect. The rarefied air density will all make cooling a challenge, and also means the turbocharger compressor must work harder in order to deliver equivalent power output to sea level. With a freshly laid track surface also to consider, it will be interesting to see how the cars behave and how the order plays out. We’re all excited to be tackling the circuit and keen to leave our mark on another historic Grand Prix venue. I was actually working at the last Mexican Grand Prix in 1992 and one thing that stands out from my memories of previous races there is the enthusiasm of the spectators. This is a country with a great racing heritage, so fingers crossed we can put on another spectacular show!

Lewis Hamilton clinches his third World Drivers’ Championship in thrilling United States Grand Prix with Nico Rosberg completing a historic Silver Arrows 1-2

Lewis took his 10th win of the season, the 43rd of his Formula One career, en route to sealing his third World Drivers’ Championship crown

The result sees Lewis become the 10th driver to win three or more titles and the only Briton to successfully defend his crown

Today also saw Lewis become the first driver to claim ten or more victories in consecutive seasons

Nico Rosberg finished second to clinch his 12th podium of the season and 38th of his Formula One career

The result marks the 25th 1-2 finish for the Silver Arrows in Formula One and the 50th for Mercedes-Benz power

Both drivers started on intermediate tyres, with each pitting twice for option (soft) compound slicks

MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS now lead Ferrari by 200 points in the Constructors’ Championship

Lewis Hamilton
It’s an overwhelming moment. Remembering my first British Championship, when my dad and me drove home singing ‘We Are the Champions’. Thinking about how much my family sacrificed – my Mum, my Dad, my whole family. And also thinking about my fans. They give me so much energy and I hope I inspire them to never give up on their hopes and dreams. The race today was really amazing and anything could have happened. The last 10 – 15 laps were extraordinary – it was just a crazy, crazy race. I was in the lead, then I was fourth and the conditions were really tricky. Nico was driving really well, too. All the way through, I was thinking; “The Championship is there somewhere… how can I get it?” It was so close I could smell it and there was never a moment I didn’t believe I could do it. It’s just incredible to equal Ayrton, too. My target was always three titles as he was the one who inspired me. There is no one I want to equal now – I just want to carry on as far and long as I can. For any driver, you want to win in anything you compete in – but this is the ultimate goal. Championships mean greatness – yours and your team’s! This Team has been so amazing. I feel incredibly thankful. I thought I would win with this team, so that’s why I moved… and I did!

Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport

First of all, a huge congratulations to Lewis. He has driven like a Champion all season and now rightly takes his place in a special group with a third title. I have no doubt there is more to come from him, so if we can keep delivering a car that is capable of doing the job then anything is possible for him. For Nico is has been an unlucky year in many ways. But he has shown his fighting spirit once again today and that will not change in the seasons to come. Looking back at today, we saw a fantastic race from start to finish and I hope that everybody watching was as entertained as we were – particularly the people in the grandstands who braved the weather this weekend. On the pit wall it was a very difficult race to manage, with so many decisions to make and so many marginal calls with the safety cars. We tried to play it fair and square as we always have done and perhaps not every call was the right one. But in the end Lewis had the World Champion’s luck on his side and when you drive the way he has done this season you earn that luck. The first corner was certainly a tense moment and Nico was clearly not happy. It’s never going to happen that a driver is completely happy to see a rival winning. But we have three races left and it’s crucial that we don’t allow today’s incident to have further consequences. We will go away, have a few days of cooling off, and then talk. Looking ahead, we have three races still to go. I have never been in that situation where everything is comfortable and I can sit back and enjoy the race as a fan, so I’m looking forward to seeing our two drivers fight flat out with nothing to lose.

Paddy Lowe, Executive Director (Technical)
What a day! Massive congratulations first and foremost to Lewis. A third World Championship is a great credit to all the hard work he has put in not only this season but over a fantastic Formula One career to date. It is very much deserved and I think he can rightly stake his claim as a legend of the sport. At the same time, all credit to Nico today. He’s had a tough season in terms of luck but has kept pushing throughout. He drove superbly today and, bar one small mistake which handed Lewis the lead, would surely have won the race. It’s been an emotional day – not just for Lewis and the team but also for the sport. We saw a truly incredible race – one of the most exciting for many years – which atoned for what had been a pretty grim weekend. The fans here in Austin have been fantastic despite the conditions and very much deserved the entertainment we saw today as a reward for their dedication.

What a difference a year makes! Formula One returned to Russia this weekend and for most fans it was fair to say expectations of a great race were pretty low. Thankfully the second running of the Sochi GP proved to be a huge improvement, with excitement through to the final lap.

Congratulations to Lewis on his win, to Mercedes in clinching their 2nd successive constructors crown, and a huge congratulations to Sergio Perez and the Force India team for a well deserved podium. Gambling on an early pit stop during the send safety car period Sergio kept his calm despite huge almost overwhelming pressure to claim his second podium for the team

Congratulations also to Pirelli on the extension of their sole supply agreement to F1 through to 2019. Further details to follow in due course. In the meantime enjoy this inspired Ushanka (pictured) look Pirelli bought to the podium and these fantastic info-graphics!